It was around fifty degrees, and the
wind had picked up a few knots from the time they’d left Berkeley. Ryan was
contemplative during breakfast, watching the waves and the few surfers in the
ocean. Jamie didn’t speak much, finding it more entertaining to watch Ryan’s
stormy blue eyes scan the sea.

“How’s it look?” Jamie finally asked,
noting that her and Ryan’s plates were both clean.

“Not good.” Ryan wiped her mouth and
tossed her napkin onto her plate. “I recognize one graybeard, and he’s out here
every day—no matter how bad conditions are. I don’t know who posted the surf
report, but if these are good conditions...”

“The waves are high like the guy said,”
Jamie observed. “Are they too high?”

“No such thing,” Ryan said, smiling.
“The height is fine, but the shape isn’t good. And there’s a long gap between
sets. I haven’t seen anyone catch a good wave. They look like they’re waiting
for things to calm down a little.”

“Maybe it will. But now I don’t feel
guilty for wanting to go to the surf shop.”

Ryan smiled at her. “Let’s go. I don’t
know what you plan on doing, but I guess there’s only one way for me to find
out.”

“You’re not the only one with secrets,
Buffy.”

***

They were standing in front of the shop
when it opened. Ryan didn’t recognize the man who opened the door, and he looked
like he wasn’t at all happy to have customers waiting. But Jamie was in a very
good mood, and she started to work her charms as soon as they walked inside.

“Hi,” she said brightly, giving the
young man a gleaming smile. “I wanna buy a couple of things and get out of here
quickly so you can enjoy your coffee.”

He looked longingly at the large cup
on the counter. “’Sokay. Whaddya need?”

“Just point me towards the wetsuits
for a woman my size. My buddy here will help me try them on.”

“Cool.” He walked them over to the large
selection and said, “If you want a girl’s suit, you’re probably an eight or
a ten. You’re an extra-small in a guy’s suit.”

“I want a girl’s. Better colors,” she
said, looking at the pink, blue, and lavender trim on the women’s suits.

“Go for it,” he said, finally smiling.
He walked back to the counter and started to drink his coffee.

“Girls?” Jamie asked when he was out
of earshot. “Not too demeaning.”

“Surfer mentality. Get used to it.”

“I’m not a surfer; I just want the clothes.”

Ryan smiled. “Whatever gets your engine
running. Now let’s figure out how to get one of these things over your splint.”

“No need. I brought an elastic bandage.
The doctor told me I could take the splint off as long as I was careful with
it.”

“So, you’re gonna put on a wetsuit and
just watch me surf?”

“No. That’d be silly. Now help me try
on that cute one with the pink top.”

It didn’t take nearly as long as Ryan
feared it would to make Jamie completely happy with her purchase. Then she walked
over to a display near the back of the store and sorted through a bunch of skimboards.

“Are you gonna buy one of these?” Ryan
asked.

“Uh-huh. I like ’em.”

“They are cute,” Ryan agreed, pausing
a few seconds before tentatively asking, “Do you know how to ride one?”

Jamie gave her an outraged glare. “Even
girls can ride a skimboard.”

“No offense. You just gave me the impression
you were more interested in the gear than the water.”

“Nope. Now pick up that cute one that
looks like it’s just varnished wood.”

Ryan did, nodding in agreement. “Classy.”

“Thank you. Now, let’s get something
for the baby.”

“Like a toy?”

“No, silly. Like a wetsuit. It’s cold
out there. Even though she’s a thrill-seeker like her cousin, she’s still a
baby.”

***

Jamie was quick with her size-calculation
and they got to Tommy and Annie’s house with their new purchases. Caitlin was
delighted to see her playmates, but a little less delighted at being encased
in neoprene. She was crying lustily while Annie wrestled with her to get her
little feet in the neoprene booties, even though Ryan was making faces, jumping
up and down and singing. Jamie watched, drolly saying, “Being a parent might
finally tire you out, Tiger.”

Ryan smiled, still performing. “No way.
I can keep up with any baby in the world.”

“We’ll see.” Caitlin’s face was red
and blotchy and she was hiccupping when Annie finally succeeded in getting her
dressed. Jamie reached in and picked up the baby, smiling at Annie when she
said, “I like to be the good guy. Just stand back and let you two be the evil
ones who torture this poor child.” She kissed all over Caitlin’s little face,
giggling when Cait kissed her back.

“Smart girl,” Annie said. “Wish I could
get away with it. Of course, you two will be the ogres when you try to get her
out of the ocean. When we go I can always rely on the bone-numbing cold to help
persuade her.”

Jamie made a face. “Oh-oh. We might
have made a miscalculation.”

“Yeah, I think you did,” Annie said.
“But I certainly wasn’t gonna tell you that before you got here. Tommy’s at
work and I’m gonna go to Martha and Brothers, read the paper and drink coffee—alone.”
She sighed dramatically. “Alone. Who knew what a beautiful word that would become?”

“I think you might be alone for quite
a while,” Ryan said. “Neither Caitlin or I have the sense to come out of the
water.”

***

The threesome drove back to Ocean Beach
and found parking only a few blocks away. Ryan carried her board, wetsuit, and
Jamie’s skimboard. She said, “I should have put my suit on at Annie’s. I missed
my chance.”

“I like it when you get dressed in public.
I’ll hold a towel for you.”

“I don’t mind the being in public part,
but it’s about fifty degrees.”

It took a while for Ryan to get into
her suit, especially since Jamie kept dropping the towel just enough to make
Ryan think she was going to let everyone on Great Highway see her in the flesh.
Cait pulled on the towel as well, but she didn’t seem to know why it was fun
to do so. But Ryan’s squeals were enough to keep her well entertained.

Once dressed, Ryan carried her board
and Jamie’s little skimboard to the beach, and when they hit the wet part of
the beach, they both started taking quick steps. “Cold,” Jamie said. “Feels
like needles.”

“Yeah. I know it’s cold, but it almost
feels like it’s burning.”

“Should be fun!” Jamie squealed, partly
for effect. She was carrying Caitlin, and the baby was struggling to get out
of her hold. “I guess I can put her down, huh?”

“Sure. The cold might knock some sense
into her.” She smiled, watching the child’s eyes grow wide, then laughed when
Caitlin ran for dry land. But the determined child wasn’t going to let the cold
water stop her from playing. She toddled in and out of the surf until she acclimated
to it, then kept going deeper and deeper until she was in thigh-deep water.

“That’s my girl,” Ryan said proudly.
“She’s not an O’Flaherty but she’s as dumb as any of us.”

They stood at the edge of the water
watching Caitlin splash happily. “One of us has to be within grabbing range
of her.” She looked at Jamie and said, “Honestly, baby, we can’t take our eyes
off her out here.”

Jamie looked a little puzzled. “Okay.
I know the ocean is dangerous.”

“Very dangerous today. But not so much
at the shore. Honestly, the surf looks awful. At least what I can see looks
awful.”

“It’s really high.”

“Yep. And I can’t see if there’s anyone
in the line-up.”

“I hate to tell you what to do, but
it seems a little dangerous to me to surf when you can’t see land.”

“Yeah,” Ryan nodded. “I hate it when
you tell me what to do, too.” She leaned over and gave Jamie a quick kiss. “Just
kidding. I take this seriously.”

“I love the sign we passed saying, ‘People
Swimming and Wading Have Drowned Here.’ How many languages was that in?” Jamie
asked.

“I don’t know, but I didn’t recognize
the characters in a couple of them. The last one was either Greek or Russian.”

“How could you drown while you’re wading?”

“Easy. This is a very dangerous place.
You’ve got millions of gallons of water and sand pouring out of the Bay, and
waves and tides and wind coming in from the ocean. It’s almost always wild out
here.”

“But you wade right next to the shore.”

“Right. But if there’s a riptide it
can pull you off your feet and dump you into the lateral current. That baby
is fierce when it’s close to ebb tide.”

“Is it ebb tide now?” Jamie asked, her
voice on the verge of breaking. She reached down and grasped the long tab at
the end of the zipper on Caitlin’s wetsuit.

“No, no. It’s just past flood tide.
It’s safe for her to play.”

“I hate to be so realistic, but flood
tide doesn’t sound much better than ebb. In fact, it sounds a lot worse.”

Ryan laughed. “Yeah, I guess it does.
But it is safer. The flood tide is much less fierce.”

“How long have you been coming here?”

“I think I was about ten when I started.
Da doesn’t know that, by the way. He thinks I waited until I was in high school.”

“Simple. There’s not much you can do
to help, so why watch? Besides, you’ve got your hands...I mean hand, filled with
Caitlin.”

Jamie took her partner’s hand and squeezed
it. “We haven’t even been together for a year, baby. Don’t make me a widow so
soon.”

“I won’t. Promise.” She bent and kissed
Jamie then splashed water at Caitlin. “I just need to check it out. I’ll probably
be back in no time.”

“Just be careful. I can’t make your
heart race if I don’t get you back home.”

“You’ll get me back home. Don’t worry.”
She kissed Jamie tenderly and walked into the water, squealing like a little
girl when the water covered her feet.

Jamie watched her paddle out, grasping
more of Caitlin in response to her increasing fear. Caitlin didn’t like seeing
Ryan leave, but she didn’t throw a fit, being fairly happy just to be in freezing
water. She did stop her play and plaintively cry, “My-my,” her current attempt
to enunciate her cousin’s difficult name.

It was clear Ryan was using every bit
of her strength to try to get out into clear water. A big wave came at her when
she was still fairly close to shore, and Jamie watched her partner move her
hands up to the top of the board and push it underwater. She popped out the
back of the wave a second later, shaking her head furiously to get her hair
out of her face. She was still lying on the board, paddling hard, but she wasn’t
making much progress. The pull was obviously very strong. For every two feet
she gained, she lost another two to the lateral current. Jamie grasped the tab
on Caitlin’s suit and tugged her down beach, following Ryan. She hoped her partner
would get into calm water or give up before they passed under the Golden Gate
Bridge, knowing that she and Caitlin could never keep up with the current.

Ryan was tiring, that was clear. She
let the current carry her for a few moments, and Jamie reached down and grabbed
Caitlin, trotting while carrying her under her arm, ignoring her outraged squawk.
“Nooooo!” she cried, but Jamie kept running as quickly as she could.

Finally, with a burst of strength, Ryan
broke through the current, diving under another big wave to emerge on the other
side. Jamie let out a sigh of relief and lowered Caitlin to the water again.
The baby picked up right where she’d left off, splashing noisily and singing
a song that Jamie was sure would be lodged in her own brain for days.

Luckily, the fog was lighter than it
looked, and Jamie could see Ryan fairly well. There was one other surfer in
the line-up, and he paddled over to Ryan and seemed to be talking to her. Ryan
sat astride her board and neither she nor the other surfer seemed in a hurry
to ride one of the big waves. The waves looked well formed to Jamie’s moderately
experienced eye, but they were breaking very close to shore.

She finally grew tired of watching Ryan
just sit in the water, so she went back to her skimboard and said, “Cait, check
this out.” She grasped the board, using her splinted arm efficiently to hold
the light board. Cait watched for a few moments, then took off after her when
Jamie started to run. “Me! Me!” she cried.

Jamie turned and called out, “Watch!”
then dropped the board and jumped onto it. She hadn’t been on a board in two
years, but she’d spent so many hours on one while growing up that it didn’t
seem as alien as she’d feared. The limited mobility of her left arm kept her
from being very aggressive, but she could take off, get up a head of steam,
toss the board in front of her and jump on it while skimming along the retreating
surf.

She practically had to wrestle Caitlin
for control of the board, but it kept the baby away from the surf and occupied.
“Me go!” she kept saying. “Me go!”

“I think your mommy and daddy better
have another baby at some point, Caitlin or you’re never gonna learn how to
share.” She chuckled. “You don’t wanna be like me.”

Caitlin’s begging finally had its intended effect, and Jamie tried to
show the child how to jump on a moving board. It was a complete waste of time,
but they both had fun playing in the water which didn’t seem so cold now.

She looked up and saw Ryan splashing
through the surf, her long hair flying about wildly in the gusting wind. “It’s
tough out there!” Ryan hollered.

“I saw you fighting to get out past
the waves. You looked like you were going to wind up in Japan.”

“It wasn’t a riptide, but it was close!
My arms noodled on me.”

“That was a sweet little nosedive you
did to get past the waves near the shore.”

“I had to duckdive three times in the
same place.” She tilted her head to the side and hit herself a few times. “I
got water in my ear on one of them. The wave caught me a little bit.”

“Did the other guy out there catch any
waves?”

“Nah. This is just a day to tell people
you were out. There’s nothin’ goin’ on. The guy who posted the report probably
figured no one else was dumb enough to go out in the fog and he could tell his
friends he was riding big ones.”

Jamie gave her a one-armed hug. “Little
did he know you’re dumb enough for two women.”

“At least.” Ryan kissed her partner’s
head. “Tell me about this skimboard thing. I had no idea you had experience.”

“Yeah. Lots.” She started to run, but
Ryan’s yell made her stop in her tracks. Both Jamie and Caitlin stared at Ryan,
but only Jamie responded. “What?”

“You’re gonna jump on that with a broken
elbow?”

“Yeah.” Jamie smiled at her. “I think
you’re in my position for a change. How does it feel?”

“Awful!” Ryan walked over to her and
gently stroked her injured arm. “Are you sure you wanna do this? You could easily
fall. I mean easily.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be fine. I won’t go
fast. I just wanna get the feel again.”

“What am I gonna tell your mom if she
comes home to see a cast on your other arm?”

Giggling, Jamie started to trot, managing
to say, “If you think of something, let me know. I’m sure I’ll be able to use
it with your father at some point.” She tossed the board in front of herself,
jumping on for a short, but smooth ride. She fought to keep her balance when
the board stopped, but she was unscathed. “Wanna use it? I’ve been trying to
teach Caitlin, but she seems a little slow.”

Ryan laughed. “No, you go ahead. I wanna
be able to drive you to the ER. And I won’t tell Caitlin you think she’s slow.
I know most 19-month-old kids can hold a board as tall as they are, run with
it and jump on while it’s moving, but she doesn’t need to know that.”

Jamie stuck her tongue out. “I’m being
very careful. When my arm heals, I can show you some tricks. I’m not bad, if
I must say so myself.”

“You’re not bad at anything. But you’ve
never surfed. How come?” She grabbed Caitlin and held her over her head, distracting
her while Jamie ran and jumped on a few more times.

Jamie handed Ryan her board, the put
her arm around her waist, leading her back up the beach to where they’d started.
“My mom. She knew my father wouldn’t watch me properly when I was a kid, and
she worried I’d drown. I really, really wanted to go with him, though, so he
bought me my first skimboard and showed me how to use it. There were always
a bunch of kids on the beach, and I learned some tricks from them.” She smiled
at the memory. “Those times I behaved more like a kid than any other time in
my life.”

“Sounds like fun. I’ve only been on
one once or twice. I’ve never owned one.”

“No!” Jamie looked excessively shocked.
“I have a piece of sports equipment that you don’t have?”

“I bet you have horse stuff, too, and
I’ve never been riding.”

“We’ll have to remedy that. I bet you’d
love riding.”

“I’m not so sure. My grandfather told
me never to get on the back of an animal dumber than I was. He hates horses.”

“Some horses are very bright,” Jamie
teased.

“Show me a trick, smarty pants.”

“Okay. Pay attention.” Ryan waited patiently,
with Caitlin sitting on her shoulders, using her head as a drum. “I think you
can easily do a three-sixty.”

“Sounds fun. What do I do?”

“You know how to jump on, right?”

“Yeah. Run, toss it, jump on.”

Jamie grinned at her. “You make it sound
easier than it is.”

“Well,” Ryan stuck out her chest, “I
am a three-sport athlete at a major university...”

Jamie started speaking louder than her
partner, trying to drown her out. “Once you jump on, you squat down and drag
a hand. If you’re gliding, the drag will turn you around.”

“Simple physics,” Ryan said. “Did I
mention I’m also well versed in the sciences?”

“Get going or I’m heading home. It’s
freezing out here!”

Ryan took the board, put the baby on
Jamie’s shoulders, and started to lope down the beach, tossing the board well
in front of her and jumping on with both feet at the same time. She squatted
down and stuck her hand deep in the sand, stopping the board immediately. But
Ryan didn’t stop. She tumbled head-over heels, landing flat on her back with
the surf hitting her hard and tumbling her over again and again like a piece
of driftwood.

Jamie tried to control her laughter,
but she was still giggling when she and Caitlin reached the scene of the accident.
Ryan’s expression was priceless. She looked truly astounded that she’d wiped
out, and more than a little angry at the ocean for treating her so rudely. “Are
you all right?” Jamie asked. She put a hand out and Ryan took it, getting to
her feet just as another wave came in.

“Damned ocean,” Ryan muttered. “It doesn’t
know who I am.”

“You wiped out pretty hard. Are you
really all right?”

“Oh, sure. I’m never gonna get the sand
out of my hair, but I’m fine.”

“Wanna go home?”

“Before I learn that trick? You’ve gotta
be kidding!”

Jamie sighed, hoping that Ryan figured
the trick out before they expired from hypothermia.

***

It only took another ten tries for Ryan
to complete a 360 turn. She was just about to try a 720 when Jamie called a
halt to the game. “We can’t do this all day, honey. The baby’s getting pissed.”

“Oh, all right.” Ryan walked over and
took the child, held her close while she tried to run with the board, failing
miserably. “This won’t work,” she said, looking perplexed.

“Give me the board,” Jamie said. She
and Ryan ran at the same speed, then Jamie tossed the board, shaking her head
as Ryan and the baby jumped on, going just a couple of feet before Ryan jumped
off. “You be careful with that baby, Ryan O’Flaherty. Her bones are flexible,
but not flexible enough to have you fall on top of her.”

“I’m going slow,” Ryan said. “If I fall,
I’ll make sure I land on my back.”

Jamie had no idea how a person would
do that, but if Ryan said she could do so, she believed her.

Caitlin was having a blast, even though
she and Ryan were taking some of the shortest rides ever recorded on a skimboard.
Then Ryan sat the baby down on the moving board and Cait was in heaven. She
liked nothing better than doing something by herself. And the fact that Jamie
was running and tossing the board and Ryan was running and placing Caitlin on
the board did nothing to dissuade the child from believing she was very accomplished.

They kept the game up until Jamie was
exhausted. “I’m out,” she said, panting. “I’m out of shape, and I’m out of breath.”

“No problem,” Ryan said. “We’ll go play
in the water.” She grabbed Caitlin and ran back into the ocean, both of them
screaming from the shock. Jamie just shook her head, mumbling, “Maybe she’ll
forget that I said I wanted children.”

***

An hour later, on the way to the car,
Jamie said, “The coldest winter I ever experienced...”

And Ryan finished, “Was the summer I
spent in San Francisco.” She laughed. “Mark Twain wasn’t the first or the last
to say that.”

***

At dinner, Giacomo asked to speak to
the chef, and when the man walked out of the kitchen, he smiled broadly and
embraced him. He introduced Catherine, then asked him to prepare a meal for
them. After ascertaining that neither of them were allergic to any food, he
disappeared into the kitchen to work his magic. The waiter arrived with a bottle
of wine and poured for them. Catherine picked up her glass and they toasted
their vacation, but as she took her first sip, she paused and set the glass
down.

“It’s not good?” Giacomo asked.

“No, no, it’s delicious. I...uhm...think
I’ve had enough.”

“What? You didn’t wet your tongue.”

“I had some wine earlier today.” She
stopped and considered, then decided to tell him the truth. “A few months ago
I decided that I’d been drinking too much. Since then, I’ve limited myself to
one drink a day. It’s...easier that way. I don’t have to think about it.”

He looked very concerned, taking her
hand and stroking it. “Tell me more.”

“There isn’t a lot to tell. I was unhappy.
You know how I was when we first met.”

“Yes. Very unhappy. I recall how sad
you seemed and I was determined to put a smile on your lovely face.” He grinned
rakishly. “I love to see you smile. Especially when it’s at me.”

“When I’m sad or lonely or bored, I
tend to drink too much. It’s not good for me and I decided I didn’t want to
live that way anymore.”

“And you can do this? You can drink
a little and stop?”

“Yes.” She nodded, looking proud of
herself. “It was hard at first, but now I only want more when I’m upset or feeling
down.”

“Do you feel down now?”

“No, of course not. I’m very happy to
be here with you.”

“This is ...” He frowned, seeming to search
for words. “Maybe a difference between our cultures. Here we enjoy wine as much
as we enjoy food...as much as we enjoy anything of beauty. Of course we have people
who cannot control their appetites, but it seems to me that we have fewer people
who go to the...what is it? Anonymous?”

“Alcoholics Anonymous.”

“Yes. And there are other groups, yes?”

“Yes.” Catherine chuckled. “We have
a group for anything you do too much. Alcohol, food, sex, drugs, shopping—just
about anything you can enjoy.”

“I don’t understand that,” he said,
his expression showing just how puzzled he was. “Everything is best when it’s
special. I’ll recall those simple drinks we had this afternoon for a long time.
I don’t think we had a quarter bottle of wine, and it was watered down, but
it tasted so fresh, so fruity. And to then taste it on your lips.” He rolled
his eyes, then patted his chest over his heart. “I’ll remember.”

“I’ll remember too,” Catherine said,
feeling as though she might cry.

“How does it hurt you to have wine with
dinner?” Giacomo asked. “Do you think you’d want more and more?”

“No,” she said, hesitating. “Not really.”

“So...it’s just because of your rule?”

“Yes. I promised myself I wouldn’t drink
too much, and limiting myself to one drink seemed the easiest way to do that.”

“But you could change the rule if you
wanted to.”

“Yes, I suppose I could.”

“Perhaps the rule should be not to drink
alone,” he suggested. “Is it good to have a drink just because you’re allowed
to?”

“No...I suppose it’s not.”

“Do you have this one drink every day,
even if you don’t particularly want it?”

She gave him a long look, one that seemed
to question his sincerity. “I’ve never....” She stopped and took a breath. “Yes.
I have one every day.”

“Is that a good idea? It sounds like
a medicine you need. Why not have some wine...not too much...when you have a wonderful
meal? Enjoy the wine as it complements your food, not to lift a dark mood or
to feel less. Enjoy wine to feel more. That’s why it exists, Catherine. To feel
more, not less.”

“I’m not sure I know how to stop if
I don’t have a limit beforehand,” she said, a frown wrinkling her brow.

“The bottle is only so big.” Giacomo
held it up, critically looking at the ruby liquid. “Two glasses...over the course
of a long dinner. Would two glasses make you feel drunk?”

“No,” she said, laughing bitterly. “That’s
one of my problems. I rarely felt drunk, even though I was.”

He raised a hand and made a flitting
gesture. “The decision is, of course, yours. But I would always urge my children
to drink for pleasure, not to alter a mood and not to fulfill a quota. That
seems unwise to me.” He grinned. “But I have an Italian perspective. I don’t
trust another person to tell me I do anything too often or not often enough.”

“The wine is delightful,” she
said, picking up the glass and taking another tiny sip. “I can’t wait to see
what we’ll be eating.”

“I guarantee you will love it,” he said.
“And that the wine will be the perfect complement.” He took a small sip. “I
believe wine should be like a spice, a seasoning. Something used in moderation
to enhance a meal or an experience. It should never be the meal itself. That,
to me, is dangerous.”

“I see your point,” Catherine said.
“I’ll give it some thought. But for tonight, let’s enjoy our meal. Here’s to
our first course—the wine,” she said, clinking her glass with Giacomo’s.

***

The girls decided they were too cold
to drive back to Berkeley, so, after delivering a wet, tired baby back to her
mother, they headed for Noe and a hot shower. When they walked in, still wearing
their wetsuits and looking like a rogue wave had just washed them ashore, Martin
saw them and cried, “For the love of Mike! Where have you two been?”

Ryan took a long, slow look at their
wetsuits, then tilted her chin and playfully asked, “Is that really your best
question?”

“You girls were in the ocean today?”
Maeve jumped up and came to stand in front of them. “You’re both shivering.
Go warm up and I’ll make you some nice oatmeal for breakfast.”

Maeve patted Ryan’s side and winked
at Jamie. “Siobhan’s view of time doesn’t always follow the clock. Now scoot,
you two.”

Duffy happily followed them downstairs,
sniffing and snorting at the fantastic scents that clung to their wetsuits.
Ryan generously offered to peel Jamie out of her suit, but when Jamie tried
to return the favor, Ryan said, “No, I’ll do it in the shower.”

“Why? Did you get sand in it?”

“No.” Ryan walked into the bathroom
and got into the tub. She started to ease the suit off. “I peed in it. I’m sure
there isn’t any left in liquid form, but I thought I’d better be safe.”

Jamie looked like she’d just heard a
very bad joke. “You peed in your suit?”

“Sure.” Ryan yanked the suit off her
leg and started to rinse it out. “Everybody does when it’s cold.”

“Au contraire!”

“There’s two kinds of people: those
who pee in their wetsuits, and those who lie about it.”

“There might only be two kinds of people,
but that would be: people who voluntarily soil their own clothing, and normal
people. I’m normal.”

Ryan looked a little suspicious. “You
really mean to tell me that you’d take your wetsuit off to pee in the ocean?”

“No.” Jamie handed her partner a plastic
hanger for her suit. “I’d get out of the ocean, find an acceptable facility,
take off my suit, then pee. Like a normal person.”

“Damn, it’s time consuming to be normal.”
Ryan grinned at her. “Do I have to clean the tub for you to get in?”

“Yep.” Jamie handed her a sponge and
some cleanser. “And don’t miss an inch.”

***

Conor and Kevin had finished breakfast
and were in Conor’s room watching TV when the girls emerged from their room.
“Whatcha watching?” Ryan asked.

“NBA,” Kevin said. “You guys surfing
today?”

“Tried to,” Ryan said. “No luck. But
Jamie showed me how talented she is on a skimboard.”

Conor sat up. “With a broken arm? You
let her do that?”

“I can’t stop her, Con. She’s got a
wild streak a mile wide.”

Jamie punched her partner playfully.
“Look who’s talking. And I just did a few rides, Conor. Nothing risky.”

“I’ve never been able to get the hang
of a skimboard.”

“I think you’re a little large for one,”
Jamie said. “Being close to the ground is an asset.”

“Breakfast is ready,” Maeve called.

Ryan put her arm around Jamie and said,
“Don’t you love the fact that Da and Aunt Maeve act like they still live here?
We’d never get breakfast from Conor or Kevin.”

After breakfast, Martin and Maeve had
a final cup of coffee while Jamie and Ryan cleaned the kitchen. When Martin
went in to watch a little basketball, Maeve went over to the church to see if
anyone needed help doing anything.

Ryan watched her aunt leave, commenting,
“She’s such a good woman. That parish would have to hire six people to replace
her. They ought to make her a bishop, just for grins.”

Neither woman was interested in the
basketball game, so they went to Ryan’s room to decide what to do next.

Ryan sat down on the love seat and Jamie
sat on her lap. “Guess what I’d like to do,” Jamie directed.

Gazing at her curiously, Ryan seemed
to think for a minute. “Given how you’ve been acting lately, I think you’d like
to go home and make love.”

Jamie smiled at her lovingly. “That’s
on my list. With a big, red star,” she said, “but right now I’d like to go to
church.”

Ryan cocked her head questioningly.
“Really? That surprises me. We haven’t been in so long, I’ve almost forgotten
that we used to go regularly.”

“It has been a long time,” Jamie admitted.
“But I really miss hearing my grandfather preach. I rarely missed Sunday services
before I met you.” She leaned over and kissed Ryan. “Heathen.”

“Heathen?”

“Just kidding. You’re not a heathen,
but our schedules have made both of us lapsed churchgoers. I make up for it
a little, but only a little.”

“How do you make up for it?”

“When I’m on a road trip I always take
my Bible and read some scripture on Sunday. It makes me feel connected.”

Ryan looked a little stunned. “I had
no idea.”

“Yeah. I love to read scripture, particularly
the Psalms and the parables. I had a beautiful book when I was a little girl
that illustrated some of the parables. Elizabeth used to read them to me for
bedtime stories.”

“No, Episcopalians are weird too, just
in different ways. So, will you go with me? We can make the last service if
we rush.”

“Sure. I’m always happy to see your
grandfather. And it does my soul good to see women priests.”

***

After the service, Jamie convinced her
grandfather to go to lunch with them. Ryan was happy to go; lunch was one of
her favorite meals. Jamie felt as if they were eating their third meal of the
day, but Ryan thought things were just getting started.

While they were waiting for their meals
to be delivered, Reverend Evans asked, “Are you girls just about ready to start
your marriage preparation class?”

Ryan playfully dropped her head to the
table and lightly pounded the surface with her fists. “Not another test!”

“Yes, it is a little like a test, but
the good news is that you can’t fail. As a matter of fact, it’s not even scored.”

“I wish you could talk Cal into adopting
that practice,” Ryan said.

“Have finals got you down?”

Jamie reached over and patted Ryan on
the cheek. “Don’t let her fool you, Poppa. She has one test and she’s been studying
for it practically nonstop for months. I’d be amazed if she didn’t ace it.”

Reverend Evans smiled at his granddaughter.
“I think you might like this class. Even though a lot of couples aren’t crazy
about it while they’re taking it, almost all of them tell me later that they
were happy they went through it.” He chuckled, grinning at both women. “Especially
the ones who decide not to get married because of the class.”

“Yikes,” Ryan cried. “Some couples break
up because of this?”

“Yes,” Reverend Evans said. “I think
most of them knew they were on shaky ground, and taking the class allowed them
to process why things weren’t going to work. I don’t think you two have anything
to worry about, though.”

“Don’t be so sure,” Jamie said. “I’ve
been hell on wheels lately. Ryan might welcome an excuse to get rid of me.”

“If I wanted to break up with you, I
would tell you, Jamie,” Ryan said. “You wouldn’t be surprised. If something
like that ever happened, it would be after months, if not years of hard work,
trying to fix things. I’ve made a lot of promises to you, and one that you can
take to the bank is that I’ll always tell you when and if things aren’t working
for me.” She reached across the table, picked up Jamie’s hand, and kissed it
tenderly. “Things are working very, very well for me.”

Jamie looked a little embarrassed to have Ryan expressing herself so
openly in public. “Oh, I’ll wear you down eventually.”

Reverend Evans said, “I think I’m going
to bet on Ryan in this race. All couples have problems. I’ve never met a couple
who didn’t have intractable issues that they couldn’t fix. The secret to a successful
marriage is not letting those problems obscure the love you have for each other.”

“You’d have to be hiding some remarkably
large faults for me to have my love obscured in any way,” Ryan said. “I’m in
until the end.”

“Me too,” Jamie agreed. “I’m just afraid
that after I drive you mad, you’re going to wish the end would come soon.”

***

After lunch, they went back to Berkeley.
They were both a little lethargic, their early rising and an active morning
tiring them out. Ryan sat down on the sofa and gazed at her partner while Jamie
organized the papers littering the table. She loved that Jamie kept a nice selection
of dresses at the O’Flaherty house so that she could look fantastic with no
planning at all. And watching her in her snug-fitting dress was making her think
of the next item on their agenda. “I need a little caffeine if I’m going to
stay awake.”

“We can take a nap, honey.”

“No. I’d like to stay up. After we play
a little bit, I’m sure we’ll take a nap whether we want one or not.” She chuckled
lethargically.

“Boy, you are tired. What would you
like, hmm? A soda, iced tea?”

“Do we have any chocolate ice cream?
And maybe some hot fudge? No, no. Vanilla ice cream and hot fudge. But make
sure to use a lot of hot fudge—for the caffeine.” She smiled angelically.

“I’m trying to lose weight and you want
a huge hot fudge sundae after eating three meals.” She glanced at her watch.
“Before two o’clock.”

Ryan shooed her with her hands. “Hurry,
or it’ll be time for another meal.”

***

With a happy grin on her face, Ryan
licked the inside of her empty bowl. “How would you like it if I put some hot
fudge on you?” she asked, looking at Jamie speculatively.

“You don’t have any left. Besides, it’d
probably go right to my belly.”

“Ha, ha. Assuming it would stay on the
surface of your skin, would you like that?”

“During sex? Or just as a vehicle to
feed your voracious appetite?”

“Yes.” Ryan smiled. “Well, not just
as a vehicle, but in addition to being a vehicle.”

Pursing her lips, Jamie shook her head.
“Not my thing. I don’t mind if you want to do it; it just doesn’t sound appealing
to me. Too sticky. Too messy. I’d have to wash the sheets, since I wouldn’t
want Maria Los to see them. It seems like a lot of work just to have you lick
me, which you seem perfectly willing to do with very little enticement.”

“This is true.” Ryan put down her bowl
and put her arm around Jamie’s shoulders, pulling her close. “And you sure don’t
need any flavor enhancement.”

“Do you like to do that? Eat food off
people?”

Quickly self-censoring to make sure
she didn’t reveal too many specific details of life before Jamie, Ryan said,
“It can be fun. But it’s not really a culinary experience. To be honest, skin
and sweetness don’t really go together. Especially the best kind of skin.” She
slowly slid her free hand up her lover’s thigh, smiling broadly when her path
was unencumbered. “I love how you never wear pantyhose.”

Jamie kissed her. “You told me you didn’t
like them. Done.”

“The nylons you wear are really sexy.”
Ryan’s voice had dropped into a lower register, and her words tumbled out lazily.
She trailed her fingers up and down Jamie’s thigh, while she put her lips to
her lover’s neck and sniffed delicately. “You smell so good.”

Relaxing in the embrace, Jamie dropped
her head so that Ryan had more skin to work with. “I love it when you kiss my
neck. You make me feel so sexy.”

“You are.” Ryan shifted to be able to
reach between Jamie’s legs. She delicately stroked her, watching in fascination
as her partner stiffened and arched her back. “You look just like a cat,” she
whispered into Jamie’s ear. “A graceful, slinky, elegant cat whose back is being
scratched.”

Jamie practically hummed her reply.
“That’s not my back.”

“No, it definitely is not.” Ryan’s breath
was warm and moist and Jamie’s pulse rose with each word. She squirmed in her
embrace, pressing her body against Ryan’s. “I love your back, but this little
spot,” she patted her softly, “is in another realm.”

Jamie turned her head and kissed Ryan
hungrily. “I love how you play with me.”

Smiling warmly, Ryan said, “Playing
is the best part of loving.”

“Even if we don’t make love today, like
if we had a 7.0 earthquake right under our house in the next few moments, I’d
feel loved just because of how you play with me. You make me feel special and
very well loved.”

“Oh, you’re loved, sweetheart. You’re
loved and desired and needed and...required. Yeah, touching you is an elemental
part of my happiness requirement. I’ve never, ever, felt like this before.”
She kissed Jamie’s neck, then moved up along her jaw, never stopping the kisses
until she reached her lips. Then she took a breath, smiled, and touched her
lover’s lips with her own. They kissed for a long time, both of them unhurried,
just enjoying the sensation of loving and being loved.

“I love you, Ryan,” Jamie murmured.
“I love every part of you.” She playfully bit the end of her nose. “I even love
the part of you that likes to pee in your clothes.”

“And I love the part of you that thinks
it’s gross.”

Giggling, Jamie said, “No, you don’t,
but you put up with me very patiently.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” Ryan sat
up a little and straightened her shirt. “I love that you’re different from me.
I think it’s charming that you get so grossed out so easily. It’s adorable.”

“Adorable?” Jamie asked, cocking an
eyebrow suspiciously.

“Yeah, really. I’ve...dated women who
were like me. You know, kinda rough and tumble.”

“That’s an understatement.”

“You know what I mean. Someone like
Karen Joncas. She’s a ball of fun and I had a great time with her, but I never
could have fallen in love with her. She’s too much like me.”

“I don’t get it,” Jamie said. “You’re
certainly not given to self-hatred.”

“No, not hardly. But when I’m with someone
like myself, it feels like play, only like play. I don’t have the urge to go
any deeper.”

“Deeper how?”

“Emotionally. With you I want to expose
more of myself, reveal myself. I don’t have that urge with someone who’s like
me. It hardly seems necessary.”

“Huh. That surprises me a little, but
I’m not sure why.” She placed a quick kiss on Ryan’s lips. “But I’m glad.”

“I’m glad too. You’re just perfect for
me.”

“Even when I’m bitchy?”

Ryan grinned at her. “We’ll just have
to wait until that dark day comes. I can’t guess about something that’ll probably
never happen. I’m not a psychic, ya know.”

Jamie kissed her cheek so hard that
she made a popping noise when she pulled away. “Are you sure you were never
married before? You know exactly how to answer questions.”

“No. I’ve never, ever given my heart,
and my future, to another. You’re the only one for me.”

Jamie sat back and gazed at her partner
for a few moments. “Why don’t you go get the hot fudge and meet me upstairs?”

“Hot fudge?”

“Yeah. You wouldn’t have brought it
up if you didn’t wanna do it. So warm it up a little and come upstairs. I’ll
have your canvas bare and waiting.“

“But the sheets—”

“Washing the sheets is a very, very
small price to pay to have your fantastically talented mouth touching me everywhere.
And a little more caffeine couldn’t hurt.”

“After that kiss, I could warm up the
fudge with my blood.” Ryan fanned herself dramatically, looking faint.

Jamie stood and held out her hand. “I’m
so hot for you that you don’t even need to warm it.” She pulled Ryan to her
feet and they kissed again, the kiss gaining intensity as it continued for precious
seconds.

Ryan’s head dropped and she rested her
chin against Jamie’s forehead. “Who needs fudge?” She bent and picked her lover
up, carrying her up the stairs to their bedroom, while Jamie placed sweet, anticipatory
kisses all over her face.